No sooner had she started to get lost in thought than Nuo Mi prompted her that it was time to have her ticket checked.
They chose seats in a corner, with an empty seat beside them. Only after Xia Wei Liang sat down did she dare to take off her mask. She took the popcorn handed to her by Yuan Ge, eating it while talking to herself, "It's just watching a movie I acted in!"
She turned to the two of them and said, "You don't know, when I watched the web drama I acted in before, I almost died of embarrassment! Especially the fan-made parody clips, they compiled all my cringe-worthy acting! It was so agonizing to watch!"
"I watched it too," Nuo Mi raised her hand and said, "It was indeed agonizing."
Yuan Ge said, "So, what's there to be afraid of?"
At this moment, the cinema lights dimmed, and the movie was about to begin. "Crickle, crackle—"
Xia Wei Liang frantically stuffed popcorn into her mouth to relieve her nervousness.
Finally, the movie began.
Unknowingly, she slowed down her eating speed and was captivated by the scenes in the movie. She didn't even notice when someone sat beside her.
The movie reached the scene of her audition, where Lian Zhu and Zhi Yuan passed each other on the street.
She said "Take care," her eyes slightly red.
At the same time, Xia Wei Liang's eyes also welled up.
The experience of seeing the scenes through Director Zhou's lens was completely different from watching it in a cinema.
Although it was her character, she couldn't help but be infected by the thoughts and feelings of the person on screen, crying with her, laughing with her, sharing her joy and sorrow.
Suddenly, someone in the darkness took her hand.
Xia Wei Liang was startled and was about to exclaim when a familiar voice reached her ear, "It's me."
Xiao Yi!
She turned her head in surprise and stared at him blankly, "How did you get here?"
Only then did she realize why Nuo Mi had been lingering on the phone after getting the tickets.
Fortunately, no one would notice their corner seat. Using the light from the big screen, she saw him and then pouted before throwing herself into his arms, "What should we do, you're going to be caught!"
Seeing her distressed and caring expression, Xiao Yi smiled and said, "Mm."
The movie had entered its climax. Following the betrayal of the fake mole, Uncle Chen, who played the undercover agent Fang Huai, had his identity exposed. He suffered greatly at the hands of his enemies, his eyes gouged out.
Before his execution, he stood in his cell, reaching out to feel the sunlight cast from the window overhead, the light seeping through the gaps between his fingers.
Hearing the cell door behind him open, he smiled calmly…
The cinema was filled with sobs. Xia Wei Liang, in particular, went through tissue after tissue, wiping away her tears.
Next was Chu Qiao, playing the second female lead, Qing Nan Nan, the daughter of a fallen family. Due to her social influence, she was targeted by the Japanese and forced to work for them to save her family's lives.
When she learned that her parents and brother had collectively died rather than become Japanese lackeys, she went mad, hugging their bodies with her mouth open, unable to cry.
This unshed grief was like a massive stone weighing down on the audience's chests.
The next day, dressed impeccably and with exquisite makeup, she attended a Japanese general's speech. As she detonated the bomb on herself, the screen suddenly went black—
There were no ruins, no screams. This stillness, however, was more unnerving.
With the sacrifices of Fang Huai and Qing Nan Nan, Xiao Yi, playing the male lead codenamed "Zhi Yuan," was also captured.
Xia Wei Liang gripped Xiao Yi's clothes, unable to watch. "They're going to hit you…" "Mm." Xiao Yi stroked her back and looked up at the screen.
The enemy wanted to extract valuable clues from him, but he gritted his teeth, enduring the physical pain and sparring with the enemy, adamantly denying being "Zhi Yuan." He even led the Japanese to suspect Yun Xi, the Japanese spy played by Shang Rong Rong, as the real Zhi Yuan!
Seeing the scene of his torture, Xia Wei Liang choked out, "They, they were too cruel…"
Xiao Yi remembered that scene. Xia Wei Liang had sat on a small stool, watching Director Song's monitor, crying uncontrollably. Director Song was so annoyed that he directly asked Deputy Director Wang to escort her out.
Looking down at her again, Xia Wei Liang was nestled on his chest, peeking through her fingers with her eyes half-covered, afraid to see him being tortured, sobbing softly.
Beside them, Nuo Mi and Yuan Ge exchanged glances and, with great understanding, turned their bodies away, pretending not to notice the two of them! Su Dan Novel Network.
As the movie approached its end, the Japanese fell for Zhi Yuan's scheme, believing Yun Xi to be the real Zhi Yuan, but she was now unable to explain herself.
Even Fang Huai's sacrifice was part of the entire plan; he had already planted the seeds of suspicion at that time.
Before the Japanese could arrest her, Yun Xi met Zhi Yuan.
Yun Xi looked at the man she had always admired, with no trace of hatred, but rather a sense of release.
She said, "Zhi Yuan, I'll wait for you below."
With her death, all the truth came to light, and Zhi Yuan was captured simultaneously.
His death was not accompanied by the emotional build-up and rendering of the other main actors. Instead, it focused on the cruelty of his torture.
There was only Zhi Yuan's calm face, and in his memory, a woman standing in a sea of flowers.
His greatest regret in this life was the unspoken "I like you."
The screen gradually turned black.
The narration was Zhi Yuan's voice, saying in a flat tone, "Lian Zhu, long time no see."
Bang—
A gunshot.
Then a full three seconds of silence.
In those brief three seconds, that shot seemed to hit the audience's hearts. Cries of sobbing already filled the hall.
Xia Wei Liang, however, stopped crying. She sat there in a daze.
This was the first time she had seen the complete version of the movie, and the first time she knew the last words Zhi Yuan spoke before his death.
At that moment, her heart ached.
For Zhi Yuan, for Lian Zhu.
The screen lit up again, showing a small town.
A light rain was falling, and a sea of yellow flowers. A woman in a plain qipao stood amidst the flowers. The camera zoomed in, and she smiled tearfully—
Unexpectedly, this final scene was the one that truly broke through their defenses!
As the theme song "Lian," sung by Ze Lin Zhuo Nan, began to play, all the accumulated emotions exploded at this moment. The audience members' eyes were red, and they sat there for a long time without leaving.
Xia Wei Liang slowly lowered her head, not daring to imagine who the woman standing in the sea of flowers was.
She was too beautiful, so pure and sacred, so beautiful she dared not recognize her.
She finally understood why Director Zhou was Director Zhou, why the Film Emperor was the Film Emperor, why the Divas were Divas, and even Chu Qiao was so captivating!
And she, as someone with a collection of cringe-worthy acting, standing among so many excellent people, was able to leave such a memorable scene.
She felt she truly didn't deserve it.
She didn't deserve such a good production team, didn't deserve everyone's praise. She had benefited from the role, but certainly not from her acting.
Gradually, the audience began to disperse.
Xia Wei Liang, however, remained seated, unmoving. As if guessing her thoughts in an instant, the man beside her took her hand and held it in his, slowly saying, "Acting is important, of course, but suitability is more important. Lian Zhu, you were the best choice." "I..."
Knowing what she was about to say, Xiao Yi turned her body and, in the dim light of the corner, looked at her intently, "You need to make yourself better."